Real Milk? Isn’t all milk real milk? For the past 3 years, my family has made the concious decision to buy locally produced milk. For most of these 3 years our milk came from Picket Fence Creamery. The milk is non-homogenized/vat pasteurized from Jersey Cows pasturing on grass. Over the past 3 months, we’ve moved to raw milk from Jersey cows pastured on grass.
Many people ask me, “Why do you go to the trouble to buy milk from these sources when you can buy it at the grocery store. This is the reason why.
My boys! After having my firstborn son, Nehemiah, the organic/local foods movement really started to take off. Knowing that our health is so dependent on what we eat, I started to research milk since I knew it was so important and something I’d have to start feeding my child at one. What I found out, well… made me angry, sad, and at the same time appreciative that local family farmers were providing my community with something better for my child.
So here’s what I’ve found that I’d like to share with you. Please remember that I’m not an expert, but would only like to share because in numbers we can make a difference. The consumer and only the consumer can drive our nation to make changes for the well being of our people.
In the United States, unfortunately, the dollar is held highly and many times above what’s best for our people. First I would like to point out that there are three types of milk. Traditional Milk, Commerical Organic Milk and Industrial Milk.
Traditional Milk is:
- Free of synthetic growth hormones
- Fed mostly on fresh grass and hay
- Raw and Unpasteurized
- Unhomogenized (Homogenization blends the milk and cream, so they never seperate. This process is unnecessary and ruins the flavor and texture of the milk, also causes the milk to sour more quickly.)
Commercial Organic Milk:
- Free of synthetic growth hormones
- Usually grainfed, some have small amounts of room to pasture, supplemented with grains.
- Sometimes homogenized
- Pasteurized
Industrial Milk is:
- Treated with genetically engineered bovine growth hormone called rBGH (or rBST) to boost milk production.
- grainfed
- homogenized
- pasteurized
So why should I care if the Industrial milk I buy at the supermarket is treated with growth hormones?
The bovine growth hormone rBGH or rBST was created to boost milk production in cows. Sounds like a great deal, right? Industrial factory farms get more milk and inevitably more money. The genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH) produced by Monsanto in milk increases cancer risks. Milk from cows treated with rBGH contains higher levels of IGF-1, a naturally occuring growth hormone that is identical in cows and humans. When you drink a glass of milk from a cow treated with rBGH, you get a dose of IGF-1, one of the most powerful of many insulinlike hormones that prompt cells to grow and proliferate. IGF-1 is linked to cancers of the reproductive system, including breast cancer. (Click here for more information from the Cancer Prevention Coalition) Besides the cancer risks, cows treated with rBGH are literally exhausted. Usually milked three times a day and prevalent to mastitis (If you’ve ever breastfed, you know this is NOT fun but painful!). Of course this means more antibiotics for the animal which ends up in your milk.
But we’ve always drank milk from the supermarket and we’ve been fine.
I’m currently 31, and our system is no where near what it used to be. The industrialization of farmlands is driving family farmers out of the fields and deteriorating our environment and health. The rampant use of hormones and antibiotics is at an all time high.
For me, it opened my eyes that this is a real problem in the US when I found out that…
Wow, I’m almost crying here, I feel so passionate about this subject. Our farmers do so much for us, and it’s up to us to keep them in business to deliver wholesome, nourishing foods.
So on the upside, what I wanted to share were the benefits of drinking fresh milk from pasture raised Jerseys!
From Real Food, What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck
Raw milk is more nutritious than pasteurized milk. Pasteurization destroys folic acid and vitamins A, B6, and C. In 1941, the U.S. government issued a report stating that “the cows of this country produce as much vitamin C as does the entire citrus crop, but most of it is lost as the result of pasteurization.” Pasteurization inactivates the enzymes required to absorb the nutrients in milk: lipase (to digest fats); lactase (to digest lactose); and phosphatase (to absorb calcium). Phosphatase explains why raw milk contains more available calcium. Pasteurization also creates oxidezed cholesterol, alters milk proteins, and damages omega-3 fats.
Raw milk also has beneficial bacteria, including lactic acids, which live in the intestines, aid digestion, boost immunity, and eliminate dangerous bacteria.
Besides the facts that raw milk provides essential nutrients, has enzymes to help absorb the nutrients, aids in digestion, and boosts immunity, it taste GREAT! The cream is delicious and any recipes using raw milk, tastes fabulous! There is quite honestly no substitute for raw milk, cream and butter!
Unfortunately, it also happens to be illegal in many states. Before you do try raw milk, make sure to visit the creamery, see the cattle, how they are treated, where they are pastured, and especially take note of the cleanliness.
If you don’t have a creamery like Picket Fence Creamery or have a source of raw milk, buying organic at your local grocery store is always best.
So really, it’s up to you America! Let’s stand up for our rights to drink hormone free, chemical free milk to nourish our family’s and children for generations to come!
Resources:
- Real Food, What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck
- Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
- The Complete Guide to Natural Health Care for Children by Karen Sullivan
- Cancer Prevention Coalition
- healthlibrary
I’m submitting this post to Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday!
Belinda @Zomppa says
Thank you for sharing. We all should be as passionate as you are about these issues. I drink milk from my local dairy here as well. I grew up on industrial milk, and goodness knows how that has affected me (I'm sure it has…). These days, my stomach actually reacts negatively to industrial milk. I had raw milk while on living on a farm for a month, and I never, ever had stomach problems. I heard that even people with lactose-intolerance tolerate raw milk because it's the process, not the milk. Thanks for caring!
Claudia Medeiros says
Thanks for sharing this precious information . We really need to make better choices for our family when we talk about food and nutrition . I also prefer real milk and organic veggies , as well .
Have a nice weekend 🙂
Chow and Chatter says
good post I need to watch this movie, i agree on the growth hormones, but i personally want mine pasteurised
Have a lovely weekend Diana, I adore your blog
Diana Bauman says
Thanks ladies for the comments!
Belinda – I have heard the same 🙂
Claudia – Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Rebecca – Thank you! I do understand also that pasteurization is the best solution especially when dealing with alot of milk coming from different places. The Picket Fence Creamery milk was vat pasteurized and super yummy!!
Teresa says
I have enjoyed reading your blog, but I have to say that I am upset about all the misinformation you share with your readers. Have you actually visited a so-called "industrial" dairy farm? Maybe you should get out of the city and take a drive through NE Iowa. Tucked within the beautiful fall scenery are lots of family dairy farms that raise and milk cows the modern "conventional" way. Plus, it's dangerous to serve kids raw, unpasteurized milk. I just read a story out of WI about a food-borne illness outbreak from a farm that illegally sold unpasteurized milk. The state is considering pressing charges. (Unpasteurized milk is also illegal in Iowa.) Also, I'm not sure where you are getting your "facts," but all U.S. meat and milk isn't banned in Europe and Canada. Canada is the No. 1 & No. 2 market for U.S. beef and U.S. pork. Europe has an illegal ban on hormone-treated beef, even though the scientific community has ruled that the beef is safe. And as for "industrial" farms pushing out family farms, more than 98 percent of U.S. dairy farms are family owned. The biggest struggle for dairy farmers today isn't getting pushed out by bigger farmers. It's that milk prices are record low. And there aren't many people today who want to get up at 4 a.m. to milk cows. It's dirty, back-breaking work. And dairy farmers do all this work to feed your family and hungry people around the world. If you prefer milk "local," that's fine. But don't put down the dairy farmers who are actually trying to make a living for their own families.
Andrea@WellnessNotes says
Great post! Yes, I think getting informed about where our milk comes from is so important. Unfortunately, a lot of milk does not come from "happy cows."
I buy organic milk at my grocery store and sometimes raw milk and raw cheese at a Farmers' Market from a small family farm. Unfortunately, I can't make it to the market very often.
I think it's so important that we make informed choices when we shop for food and that we make choices that are right for our families.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts in this post!
Diana Bauman says
Teresa,
Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my blog. I do appreciate your comments and concerns. In response I do want to say as I said in my post that I am not an expert and only do what's best for me and my family. My list of resources are at the bottom of my post. I have also read about the incident in WI and do have an article from the Farm to Consumer Defense Fund and the Weston Price Foundation reporting the Bias and Inaccuracies in the Wisconsin Reports on Raw Milk. If you'd like me to send it to you, feel free to send me your email. What I was trying to come across in this article was not so much the pasteurization but the use of hormones in our milk. Yes, I've been to dairy farms in Iowa where there are "happy cows." Unfortunately their milk gets mixed in right along with their neighbor's who are treating their cows with the rBGH hormone. I know this because I contacted Anderson Ericson themselves. In 2007, I emailed AE asking if they were using the growth hormone rBST. That very evening I emailed them, I received word from them that at the end of that year they would no longer be using the growth hormone rBST. Meaning AE up to that point was using this hormone and on the shelves of our local grocer. They are no longer using rBST but what about other hormones like rBGH. I knew then that for me and my family, I needed another option. Teresa, I agree with you 100% that the biggest struggle for dairy farmers is the low price of milk. Our own people don't want to pay what it's worth. I do. I honestly feel that for family farmers, the ones that are profiting themselves are the ones that are turning to sustainability. I have a friend in SE Iowa who owns a cattle ranch and she told me that her neighbors think she's wierd when she talks with passion about pasturing her animals, grassfed beef, and humane ways of treating her animals. They also can't believe that she's able to charge $5 a pound when they only get $3. She's doing exceptionally well! I wish more people would see the value in our food as they do in a movie ticket or eating out. For my family we don't eat out very often and wait for movies to come out on Netflix, lol! We spend more money on our local farmers that we have developed relationships with. I know the back breaking work that it can be, Gosh knows how much time and labor I spend on my organic gardens and backyard chickens, However, it's the quick methods, the more bang for your buck that's causing so much illness in our country. We depend on family farmers to do the back breaking work, and I myself am appreciative of all their work and willing to pay for it. So please understand that I'm not putting down those family farms that you talk about, but in their decision to use growth hormones.
Ruth says
Very enlightening! WOW1
Diana Bauman says
Thanks Ruth!
Teresa, I did find another article updated as of May 09 that does state American meat with hormones are banned from the EU and Canada.
http://healthlibrary.epnet.com/GetContent.aspx?token=c5987b1e-add7-403a-b817-b3efe6109265&chunkiid=90869
It also states to buy organic rBGH free dairy and milk and that it's safe to buy imported European and Canadian cheeses and other dairy products, as rbGH is banned in these countries.
Barbara says
A really informative post AND comments!
We use organic milk or soy milk in our house.
Your boys are adorable!
Organic Gourmet says
I completely agree with you! We have been drinking raw milk for 6 years now. When we switched to all raw dairy my daughters asthma completely disappeared. Thanks for writing about this important topic!
Brie: Le Grand Fromage says
Excellent post! I 100% agree we should have access to raw milk and that's what everyone should be drinking. It's illegal in many states and I believe that should be changed. Then people could also make their own butter, buttermilk, cream, etc. so it's all raw.
Teresa says
Diana:
You make some very good points about the benefits of buying locally. Over the last couple years, I've started buying more foods off the farm, and I love the Picket Fence Creamery. But I'm uneasy with the whole "raw" milk issue. I also don't think the rBGH is unsafe, according to the science. It's a natural hormone. Farmers use it to produce more milk per cow. And being able to produce more milk from fewer cows is a good thing. It means less stress on our environment (greenhouse gases, manure handling, etc.) Plus, there are fewer farmers who want to raise cows, and a lot of hungry people who want the milk and can't afford to pay an extra $1 to $2 a gallon. Thanks for the discussion. I do enjoy your blog, especially your posts on "urban foraging." Would love to get my hands on some of those Concorde grapes to make juice and jam.
Miriam says
I know about the growth hormone issue in the States… at least we don't have that here, but we do have homogeneization and pasteurization, which kills beneficial bacteria. I was recently diagnosed with lactose intolerance and I don't know if it developed because of the milk or it´s something I simply was born with (a lot of people can't digest milk in Europe too for genetical reasons). The thing is that it would be really difficult for me to find raw milk to try in my neighborhood, because there simply are no farms left…
Velva says
I have been buying certified organic milk now for several years. A couple of years ago, while visiting friends in the Netherlands we spent some time on a small family dairy farm. Each morning, the milk was taken from the metal vat and brought to the table. Can I tell you how absolutely delicious the milk was! There is nothing store bought that could compare.
I love milk but,I am occasionally reminded that humans are the only species that drinks another species milk.
Thanks for the great blog post.
Divina Pe says
You may not be an expert but mothers really know best what it is really good for their children. I agree with the raw milk. Although I don't have access to raw milk, I try to buy local milk instead of milk produced in Australia or the United States. Since I'm also lactose intolerant I don't drink milk at all. It's just sad that big companies are marketing their products with false advertisement and trying to persuade people to buy their milk and this is truly an issue and hope that consumers will become more educated about it. This is one of those knowledge that they need to learn. Thank you very much for this informative post and sharing your experience.
wendypchef says
Thanks for having the courage to post an article like this on a forum where not everyone shares your point of view. I have a herdshare so I can have access to raw milk and I love stopping by the farm each week to pick it up. At first I just got raw milk so I could make cheese and yogurt, but then after doing research I decided it would be safe to drink too.
Simply Life says
Thank you for sharing and continuing to educate me (and other readers) on this topic – I really appreciate it! I just added the movie to my que and also your book recommendation "real food, what to eat and why" to my "to-read" list! I'm excited already! Thanks again!
Diana Bauman says
Everyone, thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your experiences with organic and raw milk. So much fun to learn from others!!
Organic Gourmet – That is so great to hear and actually I've been dealing with asthma in my oldest son. He only gets flare ups when he gets a cold. However, we've been sick these past two weeks and I was so excited and happy that I didn't have to pull the nebulizer out! I don't want to attribute it to the raw milk as it's our first time getting sick since moving to raw, but I'm certainly looking in that direction and curious too see if he gets an episode the next time. Will definitely update!
Teresa – So glad you stopped by and for the discussion. We can definitely agree to disagree 🙂 By the way, if you're looking for some grapes, I have heard that you can pick from Summerset Winery near Altoona! P.S. Thinking about setting up some canning classes for next year. Perfect opportunity to meet you!!
Tasty Eats At Home says
I've only fairly recently become aware of raw milk, and its benefits. I have made a point to buy organic previously. But unfortunately, in Texas, farmers are not allowed to sell raw milk products at farmers markets – only on their farm. It limits the availability of this product to the consumer – which in my opinion, for lack of a better term, is stupid! I'm currently working with one of the raw goat milk farmers in our area to write our local lawmakers to get this law changed. It's ridiculous, we're allowed to buy so many unhealthy items at groceries and convenient places, but something as wholesome and good as MILK is hard to come by. Go figure.
Diana Bauman says
Alta, that is so cool that you are working to make a difference! You have definitely inspired me to do the same as it's entirely illegal to buy raw milk in Iowa, grrr! It comes to no surprise as we are a huge agricultural and dairy state. I was the same as Wendy. I started using raw milk to make dairy products like yogurt, kefir, butter, and ohhh, my favorite, creme fraiche. Once I started there, I also did more research and made the switch. So glad I did!
bella says
Thank you Diana, for this most valuable information. We drink Organic Milk, and had no idea about the Raw milk that you drink. I'll look for this in the health food stores from now on. I totally agree with you about how hard our farmers work for us and that it is all about the money now. Lastly, please stop back over to my blog for a gift that I have for you, regarding the time that you took to reply yesterday to the post on my blog. take care! Roz
realfoodmama says
I love seeing people in praise of raw milk! We recently decided to purchase two dairy goats in order to supply the family with a known source of raw milk.
Raw milk is legal in NM where I live, but the closest source for cows milk is nearly 100 miles from here. Fresh raw goat's milk tastes no different from cow's milk as long as you drink it within four or five days.
Besides, goats are sweet! Glad you are enjoying the benefits of raw milk and all the products that can be made from it.
5 Star Foodie says
Back in Ukraine my brother and I were raised on raw milk and every summer, fresh, right on a farm. We were always very healthy.
My Little Space says
Diana, this is a great post! I think Marillyn will be so interested in reading this!
Jessie says
very interesting post and extremely controversial. Being that I live in New York City it is very hard to buy raw milk from local places. Most of the time the "good organic" milk are sold at farmers markets and supermarkets and it is usually very expensive. I would love to try raw milk someday check out it's benefits.
TheRamblingEpicure says
First, congratulations on your award!
I would love to post a link to this post on my blog The Rambling Epicure.
Since the online paper I write for is in Switzerland, we too are interested in cows and milk, and I could write a feature article, referring to your post.
There's some really good information here. What a switch, from Spain to Iowa! Bravo!
Diana Bauman says
Jonell at the Rambling Epicure
Thank you and of course you can link this to your blog. Thanks so much and I do look forward to reading your article once it's up 😉 Feel free to email me at [email protected].
Thanks again!
diana
Erin says
Great article. We totally agree and would love to find raw milk, however it is difficult to find as it is illegal to sell in our area. Therefore, we choose to drink very little milk and use organic when we do.
Thanks again for building awareness on this issue.
Jen (Tiny Urban Kitchen) says
Excellent post! I just recently started buying organic milk. I'm not sure if raw milk is legal in my state (MA) – will look into that.
Todd says
"I also don't think the rBGH is unsafe, according to the science. It's a natural hormone."
Natural. LOL. Reeeally. I don't suppose you even bothered to figure out what the 'r' stands for?
And what "science" have you read, and what are your qualifications for being able to critically interpret it? My apologies if my assumptions of "none" on both counts are off the mark. There's plenty of peer-reviewed science which points to these hormones being a factor in cancer. When it comes to paying $6 for something that they have always bought for $3, it's incredible how many people are too lazy to read and gather facts, and therefore willing to accept authoritative-sounding misinformation.
There's no doubt this stuff causes cancer, and no doubt it's been forced down our throats for the last 30 years due to our system of corporate lobbying. Read some of Sam Epstein's work. Even better, because you don't have to be scientist to draw critical conclusions, read "Into the Buzzsaw," by Kristina Borjesson to see how the story was crushed and how people lost their jobs for trying to reveal the truth.
People tell me I'm paying too much for milk. I tell them it's way cheaper than cancer.
Anonymous says
nice blog Diana. just moved to Iowa from California. Raw milk is legal in California. Do you know where i can acquire raw milk near Iowa City? Kalona Farms is vat-pasteurized but it is NOT raw. Thanks!
Steve says
The main thing I think growth hormone does is make you go through puberty earlier. What effect that has in the end I can’t say.
My mom read research about it when she was visiting Peru in the 80’s to that respect. I think it was only later the practice of using bovine growth hormone moved to America but I’m not an expert so I could be wrong. It does improve milk production though.